Bloodrik

BLOODRIK IS KING OF THE WOODS.  BUT IT IS COLD AND BLOODRIK IS HUNGRY, SO TRIBUTE MUST BE COLLECTED.  WOODS DO NOT WANT TO PAY TRIBUTE TO BLOODRIK.  BLOODRIK IS READY TO DIE.  THEN A DEER COMES BY.  BLOODRIK KILLS DEER.  BLOODRIK IS ABOUT TO EAT DEER – THEN BEAR COMES BY AND STEALS DEER FROM BLOODRIK!  BLOODRIK HEADS OUT INTO THE WASTELAND TO GET DEER BACK FROM BEAR AGAINST BLINDING SNOW, FIREBEAST WIZARD, AND A DRAGON!!!

Yes, all the caps were necessary since “Bloodrik” is that kind of book.  Written and illustrated by Andrew Krahnke, this feels like the kind of comic you’d get if Chuck Jones decided to do a “Conan” story after listening to Black Metal for an extended time.  In short, this is something that’s as ridiculous as it is awesome.  The main story may be on the simple side, but it gets by thanks to the extreme detail and commitment shown by Krahnke in his art.  He makes the title character’s simple-minded dedication to getting some meat to fill his belly feel like a fate of the world quest.  Even if it’s just about someone who can’t let go of a slight, no matter how much better it would be for him in the end.

That’s something we see played out again in different ways with the three shorts that round out this volume.  Parts of them feel so extreme as to cross the line into comedy, yet there’s always the feeling that Krahnke knows how silly things are getting and just doesn’t care.  His commitment to this characterization of the title character is admirable and makes the fact that this is promised as Bloodrik’s debut miniseries a genuinely good thing.